Method and apparatus for creation and maintenance of database structure

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a method for configuring a database system to store information regarding a plurality of items, the method comprising: establishing a database on a computer system; establishing within the database a first object corresponding to a first item of the plurality of items; generating within the first object at least one field; associating a field identifier with each the field; and storing at least a portion of the information within each the field; the database system configured to store information regarding a plurality of items, each item in the plurality of items having at least one item attribute, the database system comprising a computer having memory, a database stored in said memory, a first object in said database corresponding to one item of the plurality of items, said first object corresponding to the first item, at least one field in said first object, a field identifier associated with each said field, and information regarding said first item stored in said first object.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/068,424, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Creation and Maintenanceof Database Structure,” filed on Feb. 28, 2005, which is a continuationof U.S. Pat. No. 6,917,941 (application Ser. No. 10/035,635) entitled“Method and Apparatus for Creation and Maintenance of DatabaseStructure,” filed on Dec. 28, 2001, the entire disclosures of which areincorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of relationaldatabases. More particularly, the present invention relates to arelational database that facilitates electronic commerce or “e-commerce”as conducted on an electronic communications network through thecreation, maintenance and update of electronic lists, made up of itemsin the database, from any point on the electronic communication network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The growth of electronic communications networks, such as the Internet,as well as various intranets, extranets, and other local area networks(LANs) and wide area networks (WANs) has presented a fertile ground inwhich to transact commerce. The amount of commerce transacted on-lineover these networks has grown such that online or electronic commerce(also known as “e-commerce”) has become a major channel through whichgoods and services are bought and sold. In parallel with the growth inelectronic commerce has come a growth in the information availableregarding the goods and services available for sale online. As thisgrowth has occurred, online providers of goods and services have soughtto develop ever more efficient means of linking potential customers withthe goods and services sought by those potential customers.

Despite these efforts, inefficiencies continue to pervade the mechanismsused to transact e-commerce. At present, potential customers havenumerous locations from which to obtain information regarding goods andservices for sale online. Many of these locations provide the potentialcustomers with the ability to capture and evaluate information regardingthe goods and services for sale at that particular location. However,the potential customers are not provided with a satisfactory tool forcapturing, cataloging and evaluating the information gathered at all ofthese locations against each other, nor are they provided with a toolfor updating the information that they have captured and cataloged.Likewise, potential customers are left with no tool for capturinginformation regarding products and services for sale online and productsand services for sale offline in a single location. Instead, thepotential customer is left to individually visit multiple locations tomanually catalog the information captured at one location againstinformation captured at other locations. The potential customer mustmanually evaluate the information captured online against otherinformation captured online and against information captured offline.Potential customers are further required to individually re-visit eachlocation (both online or offline) to update previously capturedinformation. Without an adequate tool that enables the potentialcustomer to efficiently and effectively capture, aggregate, catalog,evaluate, and update information from all sources in a single place,potential customers find themselves ill equipped to evaluate the myriadcollection of often varying prices, inventories, and terms under whichthe goods and services that they are seeking to purchase are beingoffered for sale both online and offline. As a result, the onlinepurchasing process often proves far less efficient and effective thanother sales channels. Untold online business opportunity is lost whenpotential customers become overwhelmed with the information available tothem in the online purchasing process and never reach the point ofconsummating their sale. Likewise, untold future sales are lost aspost-sale frustration ensues when the customers realize that theirpurchase did not take place at the price and on the terms that were themost favorable available to them at the time of sale because they failedto fully and effectively evaluate all of the information and optionsavailable to them both online and offline.

Thus, while e-commerce is a viable channel of selling goods andservices, from the viewpoint of the consumer, it is often not anefficient and effective channel of buying goods and services. It wouldbe highly desirable to have a method and apparatus that enabledconsumers to more fully utilize the possibilities of e-commerce.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention solves the problems described by providing a single toolthat allows the potential customer to capture and aggregate the volumeof information regarding the products and services that are available tothem online in a single database. Preferably, the single tool alsoallows the customer to capture and aggregate offline purchasinginformation in the same database. This tool preferably permits theanalysis of all information, captured both online and offline, in asingle location. Preferably, the location can be any computer connectedto the Internet that is available to the potential customer. The toolpreferably provides potential customers with automated updates of theinformation regarding the goods and services that the potential customeris considering purchasing throughout the period of time during which thepotential customer is making a purchasing decision. Likewise, once adecision to purchase a good or service is made, the tool preferablyprovides a direct path online to the dealers of that good or service.The tool is preferably independent of any given online or offlineprovider of goods or services, and “sits above” the network throughwhich providers offer their goods and services for sale. The tool allowsthe potential customer to efficiently and effectively locate andevaluate information regarding goods and services offered by manyproviders, preferably both on and offline, without tying the potentialcustomer to any one provider.

The invention further solves the problems described by providing asingle tool that allows a manufacturer to establish and maintain adisplay on its web site. The display of information preferably containsinformation regarding the vendors at which the products produced by themanufacturer are offered for sale, either online or offline. The presentinvention allows a manufacturer to establish a direct link from thedisplay of information to the web sites of the vendors offering themanufacturer's products for sale online. Preferably, the display ofinformation includes information regarding the price, availability, andfeatures of the manufacturer's products. The information displayed isautomatically updated with changes in existing information or newinformation. Preferably, the manufacturer may customize the display ofinformation to include only the information regarding its products, andonly the vendors offering its products, that the manufacturer desires toinclude in the display.

The invention preferably provides a data structure for facilitating theefficient storage and retrieval of information regarding the productsand services in the form of a database. The information regarding eachproduct or service is stored in the form of an object in the database.Each object contains a number of fields. Each field in each object inthe database corresponds to a defined attribute of the products andservices to be stored in the database. Preferably, each object containsa field corresponding to an attribute of the product or service storedin that object for which there is information available. The attributeto which each field corresponds is preferably also one of the definedattributes of the products and services to be stored in the database.Preferably, each field has an associated identifier corresponding to theattribute to which the field corresponds. Preferably each object has anassociated identifier corresponding to the product or service stored inthe object. Preferably, objects and fields are able to be referenced andretrieved from the database by way of their identifiers.

The invention provides a method for configuring a database system tostore information regarding a plurality of items, the method comprising:establishing a database on a computer system; establishing within thedatabase a first object corresponding to a first item of the pluralityof items; generating within the first object at least one field;associating a field identifier with each the field; and storing at leasta portion of the information within each the field. Preferably, for theplurality of items, the method further provides: defining at least oneattribute of the plurality of items; creating a field identifiercorresponding to each defined attribute of the plurality of items, thefield identifiers comprising a set of field identifiers; and wherein thestep of generating comprises: obtaining item information regarding thefirst item; dividing the item information into at least one category,wherein each category corresponds to a field identifier; and generatingwithin the first object a field corresponding to each the category.Preferably, the step of associating comprises, for each field: selectingfrom the set of field identifiers the field identifier that correspondsto the same defined attribute of the plurality of items that the fieldcorresponds to; and associating the selected field identifier with thefield. Preferably, each field identifier is unique. Preferably, eachfield identifier includes a numeric code. Preferably, each definedattribute of the plurality of items describes a trait of the pluralityof items and each defined attribute of the item describes a trait of theitem. Preferably, the step of defining at least one attribute of theplurality of items comprises: obtaining information regarding theplurality of items; dividing the information regarding the plurality ofitems into at least one category; and defining an attribute of theplurality of items that describes the information in each category.Preferably, the information regarding the plurality of items is obtainedfrom an analysis of the plurality of items. Preferably, the iteminformation is obtained from an analysis of the plurality of items.Preferably, the step of storing comprises, for each the field, storingin the field the item information in the category corresponding to thefield.

Preferably, each field is identifiable and retrievable from the databaseby way the field identifier. Preferably, each field identifier isunique. Preferably, the information regarding the first item is a firstproduct or a first service. Preferably, the information within eachfield is information regarding the first product or the first service,respectively. Preferably, the database is a relational database.Preferably, an object identifier is associated with each objectidentifier. Preferably, each object identifier is unique. Preferably,each object identifier is a user name and password. Preferably, eachobject is identifiable and retrievable from the database by way of theobject identifier.

In another aspect, the invention provides a method for configuring adatabase system to store information regarding a plurality of items, themethod comprising, for each item in the plurality of items, defining atleast one attribute of the plurality of items, creating a fieldidentifier corresponding to each defined attribute of the plurality ofitems, the field identifiers together comprising a set of fieldidentifiers, establishing a database on a computer system; establishingwithin the database a first object corresponding to a first item of theplurality of items, obtaining item information regarding the first item,dividing the item information into at least one category, wherein eachcategory corresponds to a field identifier, generating within the firstobject a field corresponding to each category, selecting from the set offield identifiers the field identifier that corresponds to the samedefined attribute of the plurality of items that the field correspondsto, associating the selected field identifier with the field, and, foreach field, storing in the field the item information in the categorycorresponding to the field.

In another aspect, the invention provides a database system configuredto store information regarding a plurality of items, each item in theplurality of items having at least one item attribute, the databasesystem comprising: a computer having memory, a database stored in thememory, a first object in the database corresponding to one item of theplurality of items, the first object corresponding to the first item, atleast one field in the first object, a field identifier associated witheach field; and information regarding the first item stored in the firstobject. Preferably, the plurality of items have a predetermined set ofattributes, and the computer system includes a predetermined list offield identifiers, each field identifier in the predetermined listcorresponding to one of the predetermined set of attributes, and the atleast one field comprises one field corresponding to each attribute inthe predetermined set of attributes for which information is knownregarding the first item. Preferably, the at least one field comprisesone field corresponding to each attribute in the predetermined set ofattributes that is also an item attribute of the first item. Each fieldidentifier associated with each field preferably comprises the fieldidentifier corresponding to the attribute in the predetermined set ofattributes to which the field corresponds. Preferably, the fieldidentifier associated with each the field comprises an identifier uniqueto the attribute in the predetermined set of attributes to which thefield identifier corresponds. Preferably, each field identifierassociated with each field comprises a unique field identifier.Preferably, each field identifier associated with each field comprises anumeric code. Each attribute of the predetermined set of attributespreferably comprises a trait of the plurality of items and eachattribute of each item in the plurality of items comprises a trait ofthat item. Preferably, the information regarding the first item storedin the first object comprises information regarding the first itemstored in each field of the first object. Preferably, the informationstored in each field of the first object corresponds to the sameattribute of the first item to which the field corresponds. The databaseis preferably adapted to categorize the information regarding each iteminto categories wherein the information in each category describes anattribute of the item, and defines the attribute described by theinformation in each category. Preferably, each field in the first objectis identifiable and retrievable from the database by way of the fieldidentifier associated with that field. Preferably, the informationregarding the plurality of items comprises information regarding aplurality of products, services, or product and services. The databasepreferably comprises a relational database. Preferably, an objectidentifier is associated with the first object. Preferably, each objectidentifier comprises a unique identifier. Preferably, each objectidentifier comprises a user name and password. Preferably, the firstobject is identifiable and retrievable from the database by way of theobject identifier.

In another aspect, the invention provides a method for configuring adatabase system to store a plurality of lists containing informationregarding a plurality of items, the method comprising: establishing alist database on a server computer system, the list database including afirst list associated with a first list identifier, establishing amanagement tool on a client computer system, remote from the servercomputer system, the management tool including the list identifier,establishing a communications link between the client computer systemand the server computer system, retrieving the first list from the listdatabase to the management tool responsive to the first list identifier,revising the retrieved first list, and updating the first list in thelist database to reflect the revision to the retrieved first list.Preferably, the step of establishing a list database comprises:establishing within the list database a first list object correspondingto the first list, generating within the first list object a first listfield, associating a first list identifier with the first list object.Preferably, the step of retrieving comprises retrieving the first listobject from the list database. Preferably, the step of revisingcomprises storing in the first list field of the retrieved first listobject information regarding one of the plurality of items, the one ofthe plurality of items being the first item. Preferably, the step ofupdating comprises updating the first list object in the list databaseto reflect the revision to the retrieved first list object. The step ofgenerating preferably comprises associating a first list fieldidentifier with the first list field, the first list field identifiercorresponding to the information stored in the first list field.Preferably, the step of revising comprises storing in the first listfield information corresponding to the first list field identifier. Thestep of associating preferably comprises: generating the first listidentifier, and associating the first list identifier with the firstlist object. Preferably, the first list identifier is unique.Preferably, the first list identifier includes a user name and passwordgenerated by a user of the list database.

Preferably, the step of revising comprises: establishing an itemdatabase on the server computer system, the item database includingstored information relating to the first item; and creating a pointer inthe first list field referencing the information relating to the firstitem stored in the item database. The step of revising preferablycomprises: establishing an item database on the server computer system,the item database including stored information relating to the firstitem, and creating a copy in the first list field of the informationrelating to the first item stored in the item database. The step ofrevising further preferably comprises, responsive to a command issued tothe management tool, identifying the first list field and revising thefirst list field to remove the stored information regarding the firstitem from the first list field. The step of revising further preferablycomprises: establishing an item database on the server computer system,the item database including first item information relating to a firstitem, and responsive to a command issued by the management tool,revising the first list field to include a pointer referencing the firstitem. Preferably, the method comprises retrieving the first iteminformation from the item database to the management tool; anddisplaying a graphical representation of the first item information on auser interface of the management tool.

Preferably, the step of revising comprises: capturing informationrelating to a first provided item, and the step of revising comprisesrevising the first list field to include a pointer referencing the firstprovided item. The step of capturing preferably comprises: establishinga communications link between the client computer system and an itemprovider computer system, the item provider computer system remote fromthe client computer system and including information relating to a firstprovided item, responsive to a command issued to the management tool,locating the first provided item on the item provider computer system,and capturing the information relating to the first provided item.Preferably, the step of capturing comprises: providing a templatedatabase on a template database server computer system remote from theclient computer system, the template database including one or moretemplates, each corresponding to an information structure, determining astructure for the information relating to the first provided item,retrieving a template corresponding to the structure from the templatedatabase to the management tool, applying the template to the provideditem information to parse the information relating to the first provideditem, and capturing the parsed information with the management tool.Preferably, the step of revising comprises: establishing an itemdatabase on the server computer system, the item database storinginformation relating to a plurality of items, comparing the capturedinformation relating to the first provided item with the informationstored in the item database relating to the plurality of items,responsive to a pre-established rule, revising the information stored inthe item database relating to the plurality of items to include theinformation relating to the first provided item. Preferably, the step ofrevising comprises revising the first list field to include a pointerreferencing the information relating to first provided item in the itemdatabase. Preferably, the step of responsive to a preestablished rule,revising the information stored in the item database relating to theplurality of items comprises: determining if the information stored inthe item database relating to the plurality of items includes thecaptured information relating to the first provided item, and revisingthe information stored in the item database relating to the plurality ofitems to include the captured information relating to the first provideditem if the information stored in the item database relating to theplurality of items does not include the captured information relating tothe first provided item.

Preferably, the step of revising comprises: providing informationrelating to a first provided item to the management tool, establishingan item database on the server computer system, the item databasestoring information relating to a plurality of items, revising theinformation stored in the item database relating to the plurality ofitems to include the information relating to the first provided item.Preferably, the step of revising comprises revising the first list fieldto include a pointer referencing the information relating to the firstprovided item in the item database.

Preferably, the first list field stores information regarding a firstitem. Preferably, responsive to a command issued by the management tool,the method includes the steps of establishing a communications linkbetween the client computer system and an item provider computer system,the item provider computer system remote from the client computer systemand offering the first item for sale, and facilitating the purchase ofthe first item from the item provider computer system. Preferably, thestep of revising comprises the step of capturing purchase informationrelating to the purchase of the first item and updating the first listin the list database to reflect the inclusion of the purchaseinformation in the retrieved first list. The purchase informationpreferably comprises information relating to one or more of: price,quantity, shipping method, and delivery date. The step of establishing acommunications link between the client computer system and the servercomputer system preferably comprises establishing a communications linkusing one or more of the Internet, a wide area network, and a local areanetwork. The step of establishing a communications link between theclient computer system and the list database server computer systempreferably comprises: providing a browser tool on the client computersystem, instructing the browser tool to locate the item providercomputer system; and instructing the browser tool to search the itemprovider computer system for the provided item information.

Preferably, the method comprises: establishing an item database on theserver computer system, establishing within the item database a firstitem object corresponding to the first item, generating within the firstitem object at least one item field, associating an item fieldidentifier with each item field, and storing at least a portion of theinformation regarding the first item within each item field. The step ofrevising preferably comprises storing in the first list field of theretrieved first list object a pointer referencing the first item object.

Preferably, the method comprises: establishing an item database on theserver computer system, the item database storing information relatingto the plurality of items, capturing information regarding a firstprovided item and information regarding a provider of the first provideditem, comparing the captured information with the information stored inthe item database relating to the plurality of items to determine if thecaptured information is included in the information stored in the itemdatabase, and revising the item database to any captured information notincluded in the information stored in the item database. Preferably, thestep of revising comprises: establishing within the item database afirst item object corresponding the first provided item, generatingwithin the first item object at least one item field, associating anitem field identifier with each item field, and storing a portion of theinformation regarding the first provided item within each item field.Preferably, the step of revising comprises establishing within the itemdatabase a first provider object corresponding to the item provider,generating within the first provider object at least one item field,associating a provider field identifier with each the provider field,and storing a portion of the information regarding the item providerwithin each provider field. Preferably, the item database includes afirst item object, comprising associating the provider object with thefirst item object. Preferably, the step of revising comprises storing inthe first list field of the retrieved first list object a pointerreferencing the first item object. Preferably, the first list includes afirst item and wherein the step of revising comprises the step of,responsive to a command issued to the management tool, identifying thefirst item and revising the retrieved first list to remove the firstitem from the retrieved list.

The step of revising preferably comprises: establishing an item databaseon an item database server computer system remote from the clientcomputer system, the item database including item information relatingto a first item, responsive to a command issued by the management tool,retrieving the item information from the item database to the managementtool, and responsive to a command issued by the management tool,capturing the item information relating to the first item, and revisingthe retrieved first list to include the item information relating to thefirst item.

The step of revising comprises: establishing a communications linkbetween the client computer system and an item provider computer system,the item provider computer system remote from the client computer systemand including information relating to a first provided item, responsiveto a command issued to the client computer system, locating the firstprovided item on the item provider computer system, capturing theinformation relating to the first provided item with the managementtool, and responsive to a command issued by the management tool,revising the retrieved first list to include the information relating tothe first provided item. Preferably, the step of capturing comprises:providing a template database on a template database server computersystem remote from the client computer system, the template databaseincluding one or more templates, each corresponding to an informationstructure, determining a structure for the information relating to thefirst provided item, retrieving a template corresponding to thestructure from the template database to the management tool, applyingthe template to the provided item information to parse the informationrelating to the first provided item; and capturing the parsedinformation with the management tool. Preferably, the step of revisingthe retrieved first list comprises establishing an item database on anitem database server computer system remote from the client computersystem, the item database including stored information relating to afirst item, comparing the information relating to the first provideditem with the stored information relating to the first item, responsiveto a pre-established rule, revising the stored information relating tothe first item to include the information relating to the first provideditem, and responsive to a command issued to the management tool,revising the retrieved first list to include the information relating tothe first provided item. Preferably, the step of responsive to apre-established rule, revising the information relating to the firstitem comprises: determining if the information relating to the firstprovided item and the information relating to the first item relate tothe same item, and revising the information relating to the first itemto include the information relating to the first provided item if theinformation relating to the first item relates to the same item as theinformation relating to the first provided item. Preferably, the step ofrevising comprises providing information relating to a first provideditem to the management tool, and, responsive to a command issued to themanagement tool, revising the retrieved first list to include theinformation relating to the first provided item.

Preferably, the retrieved first list includes a first item and themethod comprises, responsive to a command issued by the management tool,establishing a communications link between the client computer systemand an item provider computer system, the item provider computer systemremote from the client computer system and offering the first item forsale, and purchasing the first item from the item provider computersystem. Preferably, the step of revising comprises: capturing purchaseinformation relating to the purchase of the first item, and updating thefirst list in the database to reflect the inclusion of the purchaseinformation in the retrieved first list. Preferably, the purchaseinformation comprises information relating to one or more of: price,quantity, shipping method, and delivery date. Preferably, the step ofestablishing a communications link between the client computer systemand the list database server computer system comprises establishing acommunications link using one or more of the Internet, a wide areanetwork, and a local area network. Preferably, the step of establishinga communications link between the client computer system and the listdatabase server computer system comprises, providing a browser tool onthe client computer system, instructing the browser tool to locate theitem provider computer system, and instructing the browser tool tosearch the item provider computer system for the provided iteminformation.

In another aspect, the invention provides a method for creating anelectronic list of items, the method comprising: establishing a listdatabase on a server computer system, establishing a management tool ona client computer system remote from the server computer system, themanagement tool including a list identifier, establishing acommunications link between the server computer system and the clientcomputer system, responsive to a signal issued by the client computer,establishing a communications link to an item provider computer systemremote from both the server computer system and the client computersystem, locating an item on the item provider computer system,responsive to a command issued to the management tool, adding a pointerreferencing the item to a list associated with the list identifier inthe list database on the server computer system.

In another aspect, the invention provides a method for maintaining anelectronic list, the method comprising: establishing a management toolon a client computer system, the management tool including a listidentifier, establishing on a server computer system remote from theclient computer system an item database including item informationrelating to a first item, and a list database including a listassociated with the list identifier, the list including the first item,establishing a communications link to an item provider computer systemremote from both the server computer system and the client computersystem, responsive to a command from the server computer system,updating the item information in the item database; and responsive to acommand issued to the client computer system and the list identifier,retrieving to the client computer system the updated informationcorresponding to an item on the list associated with the listidentifier.

In another aspect, the invention provides a method for maintaining anelectronic shopping list on a computer system linked to a network, theshopping list including at least one record, each record containinginformation relating to a product, the method comprising: establishing ashopping list management toolbar on an Internet browser on a clientcomputer system, the client computer system in communication with theInternet, establishing on a server computer system in communication withthe Internet, a shopping list database, the shopping list databaseincluding a first shopping list having a shopping list identifier,providing the shopping list identifier to the shopping list managementtoolbar, communicating the shopping list identifier to the shopping listdatabase, retrieving a copy of the first shopping list from the shoppinglist database to the shopping list management toolbar responsive to theshopping list identifier, establishing communications via the Internetwith a product provider computer system, the product database includingproduct information relating to a first product, revising the retrievedcopy of the first shopping list on the shopping list management toolbarto include a pointer referencing the product information relating to thefirst product, and updating the first shopping list in the shopping listdatabase to reflect the revisions to the retrieved shopping list.

Numerous other features, objects and advantages of the invention willbecome apparent from the following description when read in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of a network onwhich the present invention is intended to operate;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary view of a computer screen depicting the operationof the user interface of the management tool in an embodiment of presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is another view of the computer screen of FIG. 2 showing thedisplay of items from the item database of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is yet another view of the computer screen of FIG. 2 after theconnection to a provider web site;

FIG. 5 is a further view of the computer screen of FIG. 2 illustratingthe capture of information from the provider web site; and

FIGS. 6 and 7 are views of a computer screen depicting the operation ofthe user interface of the management tool in another embodiment ofpresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As will be described in greater detail below, the present inventionrelates to a data structure for use in creating and maintainingelectronic databases of information. Referring to FIG. 1, theembodiments of the present invention are implemented as logicaloperations in a computer system, such as 10 and 30. The logicaloperations of the embodiments of the present invention are implementedas a sequence of computer-implemented operations, steps or modulesrunning in the form of computer software on the computing system. One ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the particularimplementation of the operations, steps or modules comprising thepresent invention will depend on the decisions of the individualpracticing the invention, the capabilities of the computer system orsystems on which the present invention is to be implemented, and thedemands to be placed on the present invention during operation.Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention need notbe restricted to a single embodiment, and it is to be further understoodthat any embodiment implementing the operations, steps and modulesdescribed herein and shown in the attached drawings, and theirequivalents, is intended to come within the scope of the presentinvention.

As will be described in greater detail below, databases and systems 12,13, of databases embodying the data structure of the invention areparticularly well-suited to the creation and maintenance of user-definedelectronic lists of goods, services and other items. In one suchembodiment, the invention allows online customers to create and maintainelectronic lists 52 (FIG. 2) made up of products and services beingoffered for sale both on and off the Internet. An electronic listcreated by such an embodiment of the invention may be accessed from anycomputer 30 linked to the Internet, regardless of where the list wasfirst created or last accessed. Once accessed, a list created by such anembodiment of the invention may be updated by capturing information froman online database of information, from a Web page on which a product orservice is displayed, or manually from any source available to the userof the list. Each list created by such an embodiment of the invention isuniversal and is independent from any given single provider of goods orservices. The list of such an embodiment of the invention facilitatesautomatic updating of the electronic list whenever new information, suchas a lower price, relating to a good or service on the list becomesavailable. The invention may thus be used by an online customer tomaintain a single electronic list having products and services that areoffered for sale by various vendors or providers of goods or services.In another embodiment, the invention allows for manufacturers of goodsand providers of services to establish lists of their own goods andservices on their own web sites and to maintain direct links from thoselists to web sites where those products and services are offered forsale. In this embodiment of the invention, online customers visiting theweb site of a manufacturer or provider maintaining such a list are thusable to link directly to a web site on which they can purchase theproduct or service without leaving the web site of the manufacturer orprovider. The list of this embodiment of the invention furtherfacilitates automatic updating of the manufacturer's list as newinformation about the goods or services on the list, such as inventoryand dealer stock, become available.

As noted above, the invention relates to a data structure for creatingand maintaining a database. A database embodying the data structure ofthe present invention is implemented as a sequence of computer softwareoperations, steps or modules on a computer system. In particular, adatabase embodying the data structure of the present invention takes theform of a relational database, such as 12 and 13, of the typeaccommodating the storage and retrieval of information in the form ofrecords populating the database. Each record populating a databaseembodying the present invention takes the form of an object. Each objectcorresponds to a particular product, service, or other item and storesinformation relating to that product, service, or item. The informationstored in each object includes information regarding one of theproducts, services, or other items about which information is stored thedatabase. Each object may be provided with an object identifier used toidentify that object within the database. The information is organizedaccording to a data structure defined by fields. Each field is assigneda field identifier and stores information. The type of informationstored in each field is determined by the field identifier given to thefield. Each field identifier corresponds to a particular attribute,trait, or category of information describing the product, service orother item to which the object corresponds.

Table 1 contains a listing of field identifiers for a database storingobjects that correspond to products, the names of the attributescorresponding to each field identifier, and the descriptions of theattributes corresponding to each field identifier. As shown in Table 1below, a single field identifier is defined for each unique attribute.Fields bearing a particular field identifier store information regardingonly the unique attribute of the product, service or item to which thatparticular field identifier corresponds. For example, a field that holdsinformation about the name of a product is given the field identifiercorresponding to product name. Accordingly, all fields having aparticular identifier store information and values regarding the sameparticular attribute of the product, service or item to which the objectcorresponds. It will thus be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in theart that a database embodying the data structure of the presentinvention may be adapted to store information relating to variousproducts, services or other items by changing the field identifiers ofthe database to reflect general attributes of the product, service oritem to be stored in the database.

TABLE 1 Field Identifier Field Name Field Description 817 OperatingSystem The required operating system for software to be compatible withyour computer or PDA. Most computers and peripherals are sold with anoperating system already installed. 1150 Hard Drive Capacity Thecapacity is the amount of storage space available measured in gigabytes.1156 Modem Type This refers to the type of modem the product is equippedwith upon purchase. Internal means it is inside of your product.External means the modem is connected to the outside of your product.PCMCIA modems are used in laptop computers. Cable modems require a cableconnection rather than a telephone connection, and cellular modems allowyou to connect to the Internet using a cellular phone. 1178 ProcessorThe processor is the chip used to drive the computer. The number in theprocessor's name is how fast the processor has been clocked to perform.A higher number indicates a faster processor. 1217 Case Style A cabinetthat houses the hard drive, floppy drive, and other inner components ofa computer. 1383 Olympus NULL 1384 Athena 1619 Speakers Included Theseare the type of speakers that come with the product when you purchaseit. 1641 Desktops Looking to outfit your home or business with acomplete computing system, or do you just need to upgrade? Here you willfind both stand alone units and complete computing systems - includingkeyboard and mouse. 2481 Name The manufacturer, name and model number ofthe product. 2488 Description Description of the product. 2489 Image URLURL for an image of the product. 2492 Manufacturer ID The name of themanufacturer that makes the product. 2493 Model Number Themanufacturer's model number assigned to the product. 2495 Price Thisrepresents the lowest price available from the vendors selling theproduct. An “N/A” in this column indicates that youknowbest currentlydoes not have any vendors that sell this product. 2594 Notes The notessection is reserved for in-house, youknowbest use only. Anything someonemight need to know about the product that you pick up on can be writtenhere. 2595 Datasheet URL Click on the manufacturer's datasheet URL andit will take you directly to the manufacturer's web page withinformation about the product. 3023 Desktop Computers 3221 ComputingEverything computer-related you need to organize your home, business,and personal life - including computers, laptops, printers, scanners,and more. 3228 Computer Systems Here you will find desktops, laptops,and servers to fit all your computing needs, whether you are a firsttime buyer or a information technology professional. 3423 Modem (yes/no)A modem is needed to be able to connect to the internet. Some computingdevices are equipped with a modem at purchase and some require anadditional purchase in order to connect. 3424 NIC A NIC or NetworkInterface Card is a circuit board/card that is installed and providescapability to connect to a network.

The types of field identifiers that are available in a database having adata structure of the invention are defined during configuration of thedatabase. The particular field identifiers defined during configurationare based on the general attributes of the products, services, or otheritems being stored in the database. For each attribute for whichinformation is to be stored in the database, a field identifier isdefined. As described above, each field identifier thus defines the typeof information that will be stored in a field that is assigned thatfield identifier. Accordingly, the field identifiers comprise a form ofmeta information, or “information about information”. In the case of thedata structure of the invention, each field identifier comprisesinformation about the type of information held in any field that hasbeen given that field identifier, namely the attribute about which thatfield holds information. Fields comprise information, namely informationdescribing the attribute of the product, service, or other item to whichthe field identifier corresponds.

It is not necessary that each object in the database include a fieldcorresponding to each of the field identifiers that have been definedfor that database. In particular, an object will not have a fieldcorresponding to an attribute of the product, service or other item towhich that object relates unless information is known about thatattribute. For example, while the weight of certain products may beknown, the weight of others may not. The objects corresponding to theproducts for which there is no weight information will have no fieldcorresponding to the field identifier for product weight. Likewise, anobject will not include fields that are not relevant to the product,service or other item to which the object corresponds. For example, aproduct to which an object corresponds may have no processor. Thus, thatobject will have no field corresponding to the field identifier forprocessor speed. Accordingly, the fields in the data structure of eachobject will depend on the individual attributes of the product, serviceor item to which the object corresponds and the information known aboutthose attributes. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate thatthe data structure of an object may also include different fieldsdepending on whether the item to which the object corresponds to aproduct, service, or other item.

A database having the data structure of the present invention supportsthe retrieval of information from the objects in the database throughtraditional query methods. For example, all of the fields in each objectin the database may be queried to determine if any of the fields in anyof the objects in the database contain a particular value. The datastructure described by the invention also enables databases embodyingthe invention to support additional types of query methods based on thefact that each object in the database need not include fieldscorresponding to each of the field identifiers that have been definedfor that database. In particular, it is possible to define varioussubsets and lists of the objects populating a database of the presentinvention, wherein each object in the subset or list shares one or morefields that bears a particular field identifier. In such a case, onlythose objects in the database having the attribute to which theparticular field identifier corresponds will be retrieved. For example,only certain objects may have a screen and thus possess the attribute ofscreen resolution. By querying the database to retrieve those objectsthat have a field that bears the field identifier for screen resolution,it is possible to return all objects that have a screen resolution,regardless of the other attributes of those objects. One of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate that the objects returned by the querydescribed in the previous sentence may be further queried to returnthose objects having a screen resolution within a particular range.Likewise, it will be readily appreciated that the subsets of objectssharing one common field identifier need not have all of the same fieldidentifiers and that an object may thus be a member of multiple groupswherein each group is defined by those objects sharing a different fieldidentifier.

In the following description of the present invention, objects stored ina database of the present invention are referred to in terms of the typeof product, service or other item to which the object corresponds. Inparticular, an object corresponding to a product is referred to as“product object”; an object corresponding to a vendor or provider isreferred to as a “vendor object”; and an object corresponding to a listis referred to as a “list object”. Likewise, the fields used to storeinformation in each object and the field identifiers used to identifythe various types of fields that comprise the data structure of eachobject are referred to in terms of the attribute to which the fieldidentifier of each field corresponds. For example, a field identifiercorresponding to the attribute of product name is referred to as a“product name field identifier” and a field bearing the product namefield identifier is referred to as a “product name field”. Theinformation regarding a particular attribute of the particular product,service or other item to which an object relates is stored in a field isreferred to interchangeably as “information” or a “value”.

As noted above, the present invention lends itself to the creation andmaintenance of user-defined electronic lists. One of ordinary skill inthe art will appreciate that the data structure of the present inventionmay be adapted to accommodate the storage of information relating togoods, services or other items by defining field identifiers in thedatabase that correspond to the attributes of those goods, services orother items. By way of example, the present invention may be implementedto create a system of databases adapted to create and maintainelectronic lists of products, the vendors at which those products aresold, and other information regarding the attributes of those products.A system of databases of the type described in the current exampleinclude a product database 12 and a list database. Both the productdatabase and the list database are built using the data structure of thepresent invention. The product database stores information relating tothe products that make up the lists. The information in the productdatabase is stored in the form of product objects and vendor objects.Each product object stores information corresponding to a particularproduct. The information stored in each product object is specific tothe particular product to which the product object corresponds and thatwill not vary depending on the vendor offering that product for sale.For example, a product object may contain information regarding thename, model number, and manufacturer of the product, or informationregarding other attributes of the product such as the weight, speed, andresolution of the product. Table 2 shows an example of the informationstored in a product object of the type described in the present example.As shown in Table 2, the information stored by the product object isorganized into fields. Each field bears a field identifier correspondingto the attribute to which the information stored in that field relates.The product object contains fields corresponding only to thoseattributes relevant to the product to which the product objectcorresponds.

TABLE 2 Product Field Object Identifier Attribute Information/Value21987 2414 Manufacturer Compaq 2481 Name Compaq iPaq 2488 DescriptionThis uniquely designed product is ideal for corporate networkenvironments and for employees who primarily use their PC for mainstreamoffice productivity applications and corporate Internet/Intranet access.2489 Image URL http://www.warehouse.com/MecaImages/www/prodimage_standard/I77822.jpg 2492 Manufacturer ID 14 2493 Model Number470018-160 2495 Price 459.97 3365 Q/A Status Accepted 3423 Modem(yes/no) No 3424 NIC No 2594 Notes kh 12/7 cleanup 2595 Datasheet URLhttp://www5.compaq.com/products/Internetdevices/Models/iPAQ_175756_003.html 2493 Model Number 175756-003 817 OperatingSystem Windows 2000 474 Display Size Inches None 542 Base Memory 1281150 Hard Drive Capacity 8.4 1156 Modem Type None 1178 Processor P3-500MHz 1217 Case Style Mini Tower 1619 Speakers Included IntegratedSpeakers 2334 RateItAll.com Ratings 1.0 2344 ConsumerReview.com 5.0Ratings

Each vendor object stores information corresponding to a particularversion of a particular product being offered by a particular vendor.The information stored in each vendor object is specific to theparticular version of the particular product being offered by theparticular vendor to which the vendor object corresponds. For example,the vendor object contains a pointer referencing the product objectcorresponding to the product to which the vendor object corresponds. Asnoted, this information may be in the form of a pointer which referencesthe relevant product object. Alternatively, the information may be inthe form of a copy of the relevant product object itself. The vendorobject further includes information relating to the particular vendorthat is offering the particular version of the product for sale. Thisinformation may take the form of a pointer or reference to a separatefile, either in the product database as the vendor item or in a separatedatabase, containing information regarding the vendor. Such informationmay include, for example, the name and location of the particularvendor. Alternatively, the information regarding the particular vendormay be contained in the vendor object itself. The vendor object alsoincludes other information relating to the other attributes of theparticular version of the product to which the vendor object relates.For example, the vendor object may store information relating to theprice, color, and quantity of the particular version of the productoffered by the vendor to which the vendor object corresponds. Table 3shows an example of the information stored in vendor objects of the typedescribed in the present example. As shown in Table 3, the informationstored by the vendor objects is organized into fields. Each field bearsa field identifier corresponding to the attribute to which theinformation stored in that field relates. The vendor objects containfields corresponding only to those attributes relevant to the version ofthe product and the vendor to which the vendor object corresponds.

TABLE 3 Field Vendor Item Identifier Attribute Value 9325871 2482Product Object 21987 2481 Name Compaq iPAQ C/800 20 GB 64 MB NIC Win982483 Availability −1 2484 Buy URLhttp://www2.warehouse.com/product.asp?pf%5Fid=CP18060&blind=no&cat=pc2485 Category Hint pc 2489 Image URLhttp://www2.warehouse.com/MecaImages/www/prodimage_standard/I77822.jpg2491 Manufacturer Compaq Commercial 2492 Manufacturer ID 14 2493 ModelNumber 470018-160 2495 Price 579 2498 Vendor SKU CP18060 2499 Last FeedDate 1008186673 3313 Resolved Buy URLhttp://www2.warehouse.com/product.asp?pf_id=CP18060&blind=no&cat=pc 6359Additional Audio Output: Sound card-PCI-16-Bit 48 KHz stereo Dimensions(W × D × H): Information 5.4 in × 10.3 in × 13.6 in Form Factor:168-PIN - non-parity - Storage Hard Drive: 1 × 20 GB internal . . . . .. . . . . . . 9336738 2480 Product Object 21987 2481 Name Compaq iPaq2483 Availability −1 2484 Buy URLhttp://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.asp?EDC=316787 2488 DescriptionThis uniquely designed product is ideal for corporate networkenvironments 2489 Image URLhttp://webobjects.cdw.com/staticimg/full/3/1/6787.jpg 2491 ManufacturerCompaq Computer 2492 Manufacturer ID 14 2493 Model Number 470018-1602495 Price 599.86 2498 Vendor SKU 316787 2499 Last Feed Date 10081866703313 Resolved Buy URLhttp://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.asp?EDC=316787 6359 AdditionalConnectivity Serial port: 1 Parallel port: 1 Video Information port: 1Mouse port: 1 USB port: 2 10/100 Mbps Ethernet port: 1 Keyboard port: 1NIC information: 10/100 Ethernet Additional information: . . . . . . . .. . . . 9424808 2482 Product Object 21987 2481 Name Compaq Ipaq LegacyCel 800 MHz 2483 Availability 232 2484 Buy URLhttp://www.insight.com/web/apps/productpresentation/index.php?product_id=470018-1602488 Description The Compaq iPAQ desktop is ideal for corporate networkenvironments and employees who primarily use their PC for mainstreamoffice productivity applications and corporate Internet/intranet access.2489 Image URLhttp://www.insight.com/graphics/us/products/mn/470018-160_mn.jpg 2493Model Number 470018-160 2495 Price 579.99 2498 Vendor SKU 470018-1602499 Last Feed Date 1008186670 3313 Resolved Buy URLhttp://www.insight.com/web/apps/productpresentation/index.php?product_id=470018-1606359 Additional >> Intel Celeron 800 Mhz Processor >> 64 MB InformationSDRAM; 20 GB Hard Drive >> Integrated Audio and NIC >> Microsoft Windows98

Based on the foregoing description, it will be appreciated by one ofordinary skill in the art that the product database of the presentexample contains one product object corresponding to each product forwhich information is stored in the product database. However, thedatabase may contain multiple vendor objects corresponding to eachproduct. In particular, for any given product object in the databasethere may be multiple vendors offering for sale the product to whichthat product object corresponds. Likewise, each vendor offering thatproduct for sale may offer multiple versions of the product at differentprices. Accordingly, to capture this information, the database willcontain a vendor object corresponding to each version of the productbeing offered by each vendor offering that product for sale.

The list database 13 of the present example stores information relatingto lists of products for which there are product objects in the productdatabase. The lists are stored in the list database in the form of listobjects. Each list object stores information corresponding to aparticular list of product objects in the product database. For example,a list object may contain information regarding the user who created thelist, a unique name for the list, and a password used to access thelist. Each list object further stores information relating to theproduct objects in the product database that corresponds to the productson the list. The information relating to each product object thatcorresponds to a product on the list takes the form of a pointerreferencing a product object in the product database that correspond toproducts on the list. However, it will be appreciated that theinformation relating to each product object that corresponds to aproduct on the list may also take the form of a copy of the productobject itself. Table 4 shows two tables exemplifying the storage ofinformation on the list database. As shown in Table 4, informationregarding the lists stored in the list database may be organized into atable of fields in which each list is identified by a user identifierindicating the user who generated the list, a list identifier indicatingthe list itself, and a list name identifier indicating the name given tothe list by the user. In addition, Table 4 shows a depiction of theinformation stored in a list object of the type described in the presentexample. The information stored by the list objects is organized intofields. Each field bears field identifiers. As shown in Table 4, a listobject includes a user identifier field containing the user identifiergiven to the user who generated the list, a list identifier fieldcontaining a list identifier identifying the particular list itself, anda product identifier field holding pointers of references to the productidentifiers of the product in the product database that are on the list.The list object may also contain fields corresponding to otherattributes of the products on the list, such as the position on the listheld by a particular product and the source from which the informationregarding the product stored in the product database was obtained.

TABLE 4 List Name User Identifier List Identifier Identifier 54841 845Products 946 Christmas Gifts 1023  Wish List . . . . . . . . . 55871 342Services 563 Gifts 673 Birthday List Product List Position Source UserIdentifier Identifier Identifier Identifier Identifier 54841 845 12346 1845 12345 2 845 12342 3 845 23423 10

Each list created by the present invention thus defines a subset ofproduct objects in the product database that are pointed to by the listobject corresponding to that list. Likewise, other lists generated bythe present invention define other subsets of the product objects in theproduct database that are pointed to by the list objects correspondingto those lists. Thus, in practice, a list is generated by creating a newlist object in the list database and providing that list object withinformation in the form of pointers that refer or point to those productobjects in the product database that correspond to the products that areto be added to the list. Likewise, a desired list is retrieved from thelist database by querying the list database to retrieve those lists thathave a given value in the field that bears the field identifiercorresponding to the list name. It will be appreciated by one ofordinary skill in the art that the present invention teaches that eachproduct object may be a member of multiple lists, and that, regardlessof the number of lists that contain a given product object, the databaseneed only contain a single copy of that given product object.Accordingly, it will be further appreciated that by updating theinformation in a single product object in the product database, each ofthe electronic lists that point to that product are likewise updated.

As noted above, the present invention is well-suited to the creation andmaintenance of user-defined lists of products. Referring to FIG. 1, whatfollows below is a description of an embodiment of the present inventionin which the item database described in the example above comprises aproduct database 12 and the list database described in the example abovecomprises a list database 13 (see Table 4). The product database 12 is adatabase having a data structure of the type described above, populatedby product objects and vendor objects. Each product object containsinformation corresponding to a unique product. Each vendor objectcontains information corresponding to a particular version of a productoffered by a particular vendor or provider. List database 13 is adatabase having a data structure of the type described above, populatedby list objects. While the following description is based on anembodiment of the present invention comprising a product databasepopulated by product objects and vendor objects, it will be appreciatedby one of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may alsoembody a service database populated by service objects, or a mixeddatabase populated by both product objects and service objects. Thus, inthe most general description of the invention we refer to the database12 and an item database. In any of these cases, the present invention isequally effective in creating and maintaining lists including products,services, or both products and services, respectively. Likewise, it willfurther be appreciated that while the functions of the product databaseand list database are described as being carried out on two separatedatabases, each embodying the data structure of the present invention,in alternative embodiments, the functions of the product database andlist database may be carried out on the same database, or on multipleproduct databases and multiple list databases.

The embodiment of the present invention described below is configured tooperate under a client/server computing model and, in particular, tooperate on the system shown in FIG. 1. The system shown in FIG. 1includes a server computer system 10, located at a node on acommunications network 20. The system further includes any number ofclient computer systems 30, each located at a node on communicationsnetwork 20, and product provider computer systems 80, also located atnodes on communications network 20. Communication is supported betweenand amongst the nodes on communications network 20, and thus betweenserver computer systems 10, client computer systems 30, and providercomputer systems 80, through a series of communications links 22.Communications links 22 of the present invention may be accomplished byeither terrestrial, wireless, or satellite means, provided thatcommunications link 22 is capable of sustaining electroniccommunications between the nodes connected by communications link 22.FIG. 1 also shows product database 12 residing on server computer system10. Accordingly, it will be understood that product database 12 is inelectronic communication with client computer systems 30 and providercomputer systems 80 via communications network 20.

As shown in FIG. 1, communications network 20 of the system on which thepresent invention may operate includes the world wide web portion of theInternet (referred to herein interchangeably as the “Internet” or the“Web”). However, it will alternatively be appreciated thatcommunications network 20 may include any other local area network, widearea network, or communications network capable of supporting electroniccommunications between two or more nodes. In the interest of simplifyingthe description of the present invention, FIG. 1 depicts a systemincluding several client computer systems 30 and several productprovider computer systems 80. However, it will be understood that thepresent invention may be implemented to operate on a communicationsnetwork 20 having additional client computer systems 30 and additionalproduct provider computer systems 80, each operating under theprinciples described herein with respect to client computer systems 30and product provider computer systems 80 shown in FIG. 1. Likewise,while server computer system 10 is shown in FIG. 1 as being located at asingle node on communications network 20, it will be understood that thepresent invention also lends itself to the use of a server computersystem 10 distributed over two or more nodes on communications network20.

Server computer system 10 of the system shown in FIG. 1 includes acomputer server capable of serving information to one or more nodes oncommunications network 20 defined by the Internet. Client computersystem 30 of the system on which the present invention is intended tooperate includes a personal computer, network terminal, personal digitalassistant, telephone, or other electronic device capable of beingoperably attached to and communicating over the communications network20. Each product provider computer system 80 is a node on communicationsnetwork 20 through which vendors and manufacturers of products offervarious products for sale, or through which information regardingproducts is made available. As such, in the case that communicationsnetwork 20 is the Internet, each product provider computer system 80embodies a Web page displaying products offered for sale and providingvarious information regarding those products. In each case, it will bereadily understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the exactspecifications of communications network 20, server computer system 10,and each client computer system 30 and product provider computer system80 of the system on which the present invention is intended to operatewill depend on factors such as the number of nodes on communicationsnetwork 20, the amount of information being communicated acrosscommunications network 20, and the desired speed of operation of thepresent invention.

The embodiment of the present invention implemented to operate on thesystem shown in FIG. 1 includes a management tool with whichuser-defined lists of products may be created and maintained. Themanagement tool is implemented as a sequence of operations, steps ormodules implemented in the form of client-side computer software onclient computer system 30. Accordingly, the management tool is capableof sustaining communications with server computer system 10 and, inparticular, sending commands and instructions to server computer system10 and receiving the results of those commands and instructions fromserver computer system 10. Referring to FIG. 2, the management toolincludes a user interface 40 used to display information regarding theoperation of the management tool on display 32 of client computer system30. As shown in FIG. 2, user interface 40 preferably takes the form of atool bar on an Internet browser computer software program and includes aseries of computer software-implemented buttons for use in providinginstructions and commands to the management tool. It will be appreciatedthat user interface 40 may also take the form of a computer softwareprogram that is separate and independent from any Internet browsercomputer software program. As used herein, the term “Internet browser”is intended to mean one of the generally available computer softwareprograms that is used to navigate, access and view the web sites on theInternet. It is well understood that an Internet browser will takedifferent embodiments depending on the specifications of client computersystem 30 and display 32 on which the Internet browser has beenimplemented. Likewise, user interface 40 of the management tool willtake different embodiments depending on client computer system 30 anddisplay 32 on which user interface 40 is implemented.

As noted above, the management tool includes a series of computersoftware-implemented buttons used to issue commands to the managementtool to perform certain operations on the list database and productdatabase. In particular, the embodiment of user interface 40 depicted inFIG. 2 includes a new list button 41, open button 42, find button 44,and add button 46. It will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill inthe art that while the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes theaforementioned buttons, alternative embodiments of the management toolmay include additional buttons providing for other operations to beperformed on the list database and the product database, and the listobjects, product objects, and vendor objects contained therein. New listbutton 41 is used to issue a command to the management tool to create anew list in list database 13. Open button 42 is used to issue a commandto the management tool to retrieve a list of product objects from listdatabase 13 and to display that list on user interface 40. Find button44 is used to issue a command to the management tool to search productdatabase 12 for a product object corresponding to a product havingcertain characteristics and to display the results of that search onuser interface 40. A user utilizes add button 46, preferably by clickingon it, to issue a command to the management tool to add a product objectcorresponding to the product information displayed in productinformation field 48 to a list that has already been retrieved to userinterface 40. A further description of the operation of user interface,and the buttons and fields displayed thereon, follows below.

The embodiment of the present invention described herein teaches that alist may be created by providing the management tool with theinformation necessary to create a new list and instructing themanagement tool to establish a new list by selecting new list button 41.The information necessary to establish a new list includes a list nameor code by which the list will be identified. The list name or code mayinclude, for example, a user name and password. In the presentembodiment of the invention, the list name or code is provided to themanagement tool and new list button 41 is selected. Responsive to suchcommand, the management tool instructs list database 13 to create a newlist object and to create a field in the new list object to store thelist name or code provided to the management tool. It will be understoodfrom the foregoing description that the field identifier given to thefield storing the list name or code is the same field identifier that isgiven to the field in all other list objects that stores the name orcode for those list objects. Once created, the list may be updated andmanaged, as is described in greater detail below. A previously createdlist may be accessed from any client computer system 30 oncommunications network 40 by entering the unique list identifierassociated with the list into the management tool. In practice, a listidentifier is entered into a data field on user interface 40. Themanagement tool transmits a query to list database 41 to identify andretrieve to the management tool those list objects having a listidentifier corresponding to the list identifier entered into userinterface 40. As shown in FIG. 2, upon retrieval of the list objectscorresponding to the entered list identifier, the product database isqueried to obtain information regarding each of the product objectspointed to by the list object and the management tool generates agraphical representation of list 50 including graphical representationsof each of product objects 52 pointed to by the list object. Theinformation stored in the vendor objects that refer to each of theproduct objects pointed to by the list object may then be accessed byselecting any of the graphical representations of product objects 52displayed in the graphical representation of list 50. In an alternativeembodiment of the invention, the graphical representation of list 50 mayitself include a graphical representation of the vendor objects thatrefer to each of the product objects pointed to by the list object. Aswill be described below, the list that is currently being displayed onuser interface 40 may be managed. Management of the list may include,for example, making additions to or subtractions from the list. The listthat is currently being displayed on user interface 40 will be referredto herein as the “current list.” As the foregoing description indicates,the present embodiment of the invention teaches that the product objectsand vendor objects comprising a list are retrieved from product database12 on server computer system 10 to the management tool on clientcomputer system 30. As a result, it will be appreciated that each listcreated by the present invention is a universal list insofar as theproduct objects and vendor objects comprising the list may be retrievedfrom server computer system 10 to a management tool resident on anyclient computer system 30 on communications network 20, regardless ofwhere the list was originally created or accessed in the past.

A product may be added to the current list by locating a product objectcorresponding to that product in product database 12 and adding apointer referring to that product object to the list objectcorresponding to the current list. As shown in FIG. 3, user interface 40of the management tool includes a search field 54. In practice, adescription of a product is entered into search field 54 and find button44 is selected. A query command is issued by the management tool toproduct database 12. Responsive to the query command, product database12 retrieves to the management tool all product objects having fieldsthat contain information corresponding to the description entered intosearch field 54. A graphical representation of the retrieved productobjects is generated and displayed in the form of a list 56 on userinterface 40. A desired product 58 from list 56 may be added to thecurrent list by identifying a desired product 58 to be added to thecurrent list and selecting add button 46. Responsive to such command,the management tool instructs the list database to add to the listobject corresponding to current list a pointer referring to the productobject that corresponds to desired product 58 and, as shown in FIG. 3,add a graphical representation 60 of the product object corresponding todesired product 58 to the graphical representation of current list 50.

The present invention also teaches that a product may be added to acurrent list by detecting and capturing information regarding thatproduct from a provider computer system 80. As shown in FIG. 4, uponlocating a product provider computer system 80 that includes a displayof information 62 regarding a particular product, the management tooldetects and captures the display of information 62 regarding the producton provider computer system 80. Based on the detected and capturedinformation, the management tool queries product database 12 todetermine if product database 12 includes a product object correspondingto the product for which information 62 has been detected and captured,and a vendor object corresponding to the vendor and version of theproduct for which information 62 has been detected and captured. Ifproduct database 12 does not include a product object or a vendor objectcorresponding to the product for which information 62 has been detectedand captured, a new product object corresponding to the product forwhich information 62 has been detected and captured, and a new vendorobject corresponding to the vendor of the product and the version of theproduct for which information 62 has been detected and captured, arecreated using information 62. If product database 12 includes a productobject corresponding to the product for which information 62 has beendetected and captured, but does not include a vendor objectcorresponding to the version of the product and the vendor offering theproduct, a new vendor object corresponding to the vendor of the productand the version of the product is created. As will be appreciated fromthis description, information 62 that has been detected and captured iscategorized and associated with an attribute for which a field has beencreated in the product database and stored in the field corresponding tothat attribute in either the product object or vendor object. As will bedescribed in greater detail below, the present embodiment of theinvention accommodates the verification of information 62 prior to thecreation of the product object and vendor object.

If product database 12 contains an existing product object and vendorobject corresponding to the product for which information 62 has beendetected and captured, information 62 contained in the existing productobject and vendor object is compared against the detected and capturedinformation 62. If the detected and captured information 62 is notpresent in the product object and vendor object, the detected andcaptured information 62 is verified and, pending verification, theproduct object and vendor object is updated to include the detected andcaptured information 62. If the detected and captured information 62 ispresent in the product object and the vendor object, the product objectand vendor object are not modified. In either case, the management toolthen displays the information from the new, updated, or existing productobject, as applicable, in product information field 48. The product forwhich information 62 has been detected and captured may be added to thecurrent list by selecting add button 46. Responsive to such command, themanagement tool adds a pointer to the product object or vendor objectcorresponding to the information displayed in product information field48 to the list object corresponding to the current list and, as shown inFIG. 5, adds a graphical representation 64 of the product objectcorresponding to the information displayed in product information field48 to the graphical representation of list 50 on user interface 12.

As noted above, the present embodiment of the invention teaches thatinformation 62 regarding a product that is detected and captured from aprovider computer system 80 may be verified prior to being incorporatedinto either a new or existing product object or vendor object. The stepof verification may include a comparison of the detected and capturedinformation 62 against existing records to determine if the detected andcaptured information 62 corresponds in form and range to existinginformation for similar products. The step of verification may alsoinclude comparison against records provided by a manufacturer or vendorof a product to determine if the detected and captured information 62corresponds with the existing records. Verification may include a manualverification by a system operator. By way of example, the model numbersand serial numbers used by a particular manufacturer generally willfollow a format unique to that manufacturer. Thus, a form ofverification may include checking the model and serial number found inthe detected and captured information 62 against the format of the modeland serial number used by the manufacturer of the product correspondingto the detected and captured information 62. By way of further example,verification may include checking the model number found in the detectedand captured information 62 against the product objects in productdatabase 12 that have the same model number to determine if otherinformation found in the detected and captured information 62 (such asthe product name and manufacturer) matches the equivalent informationfound in the product objects having the same model number. Still anotherexample of verification may include checking the price found in thedetected and captured information 62 to determine if it falls within areasonable range of the prices for the product to which the detected andcaptured information 62 corresponds.

It is noted above that the present embodiment of the invention teachesthat, in performing the step of comparing the product objects and vendorobjects in product database 12 against the detected and capturedinformation 62, the management tool updates the product objectcorresponding to the product, and the vendor object corresponding to thevendor and version of the product, to include the captured and detectedinformation 62. The process of updating the product and vendor objectsgenerally includes adding information to the product and vendor objectsthat is not yet included in the product and vendor objects or addinginformation to the product and vendor objects that is more current ormore desirable than the existing information in the existing product andvendor object. By way of example, if information 62 detected andcaptured from provider computer system 80 includes a price for theproduct that is lower (and thus more desirable) than the price thenincluded in the vendor object, pending verification (as discussedabove), the vendor object will be updated to reflect the lower price andthe vendor offering that lower price. Likewise, if information 62detected and captured from provider computer system 80 includes a pricefor the product that is higher (and thus less desirable) than the pricethen included in the vendor object, pending verification, the vendorobject will not be updated to reflect the higher price. In either case,the information regarding the product displayed in product informationfield 48 will reflect the lower of the captured and detected price andthe price included in the vendor object. Accordingly, by way of furtherexample, and as shown in FIG. 5, while information 62 detected andcaptured from product provider computer system 80 reflects a price of$194.88 for the product, the information displayed in productinformation field 48 reflects a lower price of $174.94 that had beenincluded in the vendor object for that product.

The present invention further teaches that a product may be added to alist by manually entering information regarding that product into themanagement tool. In the case of manual entry, information regarding aproduct is entered into product information field 48, and add button 46is selected. Responsive to this command, the management tool capturesthe manually entered information from product information field 48,creates a new product object and a new vendor object corresponding tothe product corresponding to the manually entered product information,and revises product database 12 to include that new product object andvendor object.

Products may also be deleted from a list by selecting the graphicalrepresentation of the product object to be deleted from the graphicalrepresentation of list 50 and selecting delete button 65. Responsive tothis command, the management tool removes the pointer to the selectedproduct object from the list object corresponding to the current list,thus removing the product from the current list. It will be appreciatedthat by deleting a product from a list, the product object correspondingto that product is not also deleted from product database 12, and thatthe product object will remain listed on any other user-defined liststhat contain a pointer referencing that product object.

One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that references madeherein to “identifying”, “selecting”, or “activating” a button on acomputer screen are intended to refer to the act of issuing a command tothe computer to choose and enact the computer-implemented set ofcommands associated with that button. Such acts are commonlyaccomplished by positioning a pointer above the button and depressingone or more of the buttons on a mouse device, by tapping on the buttonwith a stylus device, or by any other conventionally known process oroperation generally known in the art.

As is noted above, each user-defined list generated by the presentinvention is a list of pointers or references to product objects inproduct database 12 wherein each product object corresponds to aparticular product and includes fields containing information regardingthat product. Likewise, each product object is referenced by one or morevendor objects in product database 12 wherein each vendor objectcorresponds to a particular version of the product being offered by aparticular vendor. Given that the information included in the productobjects pointed to in each list, and the vendor objects referencingthose product objects, are subject to periodic updates as describedabove, it should be understood that each time that a list is accessed,the information retrieved from the product objects pointed to by thatlist, and the vendor objects referenced by those product objects, willreflect any updates that have been made to that information in theinterim since that list was last accessed. Put another way, by updatinga single product object to include new information, all lists thatcontain pointers to that product object are thereby updated to includethe new information. By way of example, if a product object pointed toby a particular list is updated after the pointer to that product objectis added to the list (or after that list has been last accessed), thenext time the list is accessed, the list will reflect the updatedproduct object, rather than the product object in the form that itexisted when it was added to the list (or when the list was lastaccessed). Accordingly, the present embodiment of the invention providesthe benefit of being self-updating through use. In particular, as userscreate and maintain lists of products, new and updated information isstored in the product database in the form of new product objects andupdates to existing product objects, as is described in detail above. Asnew product objects and updates to existing product objects are storedin the product database, the lists referencing those product objects areautomatically updated to include such new information. Accordingly, thepresent invention provides the benefit of supporting the generation andmaintenance of lists that are automatically updated as the productobjects and vendor objects in the product database are updated.

In addition to new and updated information being provided to productdatabase 12 through users of the database, product database 12 may alsobe populated with new and updated product objects received directly fromvendors and manufacturers of products. In such an embodiment, a filecontaining product information may be received from a vendor ormanufacturer and the product information directly input into productdatabase 12. Alternatively, a communications link may be establishedbetween computer systems operated by the vendors and manufacturers ofproducts and product database 12. Such communications link may take theform of communications network 20, or any other generally accepted formof electronic communication. Once such a link is established, updatedproduct information from those vendors and manufacturers may be sentdirectly to product database 12. In either case, it will be appreciatedthat the vendors and manufacturers of products may be able to provideinformation relating to the products that is not generally available fordetection and capture from provider sites 80. For example, while aprovider site 80 may not include information pertaining to the existinginventory and availability of a product offered for sale on providersite 80, the vendor or manufacturer may, in addition to the attributesnoted above, provide real-time, up-to-date information relating toexisting inventory and availability of their products.

While the embodiment of the present invention shown in the figures anddescribed above includes product database 12 and list database 13 asresident on server computer system 10, in an alternate embodiment, themanagement tool of the present invention includes a database on clientcomputer system 30 for storing copies of the lists accessed through thatclient computer system 30. It will be appreciated that, by maintaining adatabase of the lists accessed through a client computer system 30 onthat client computer system 30, such lists may be accessed from the copyon client computer system 30 rather than from product database 12.Accordingly, it will be appreciated that such an embodiment allows forthe list to be accessed when client computer system 30 is not incommunication with server computer system 10 via communications network20. In such an embodiment, upon accessing list database 13 to retrieve alist, the management tool will execute the additional step of checkingfor differences between the copy of the list maintained on clientcomputer system 10 and the list retrieved from list database 13. In theevent that differences are detected, the management tool willsynchronize the record of the list on the client computer system withthe list retrieved from list database 13.

In addition to providing a tool with which consumers may create andmaintain lists of products and services, as described above, the presentinvention also lends itself to the generation of manufacturer-definedlists of vendors who offer that manufacturer's products for sale. Inparticular, a product manufacturer may maintain a web site on which themanufacturer displays information regarding its products. As shown inFIG. 6, such a web site may include a display of information 66regarding a product produced by that manufacturer and a hyperlink button68 to further information regarding the product. However, unless themanufacturer has established a relationship with a vendor of itsproducts, or unless the manufacturer has established a means to offerits own products for sale on its web site, a potential customer visitingthe web site will be required to leave the manufacturer's web site andlocate the web site of a vendor of that manufacturer's products beforebeing able to purchase the products displayed on the manufacturer's website. The present invention may be used to provide such a manufacturerwith the ability to offer a list of updated information on its web siteregarding the vendors that offer its products for sale, and with theability to facilitate a direct link from the manufacturer's web site toweb sites maintained by such vendors where the manufacturer's productsmay be purchased online.

As shown in FIG. 6, under this aspect of the present invention, themanufacturer's web site has been equipped with a button 70 linking thedisplay of information 66 to a separate Web page including informationregarding the pricing and availability of product described ininformation 66. By selecting the pricing and availability button 70, themanufacturer's web site queries product database 12 to retrieve theproduct object in product database 12 that corresponds to the productfor which information 66 is displayed on the manufacturer's web site,and the vendor objects referencing that product object. Referring toFIG. 7, product database 12 generates a graphical representation 72 ofthe product object for the product to which information 66 corresponds,and the vendor objects referencing that product object. Graphicalrepresentation 72 may include any of the information that is stored inthe fields of the product object and the vendor object. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 7, graphical representation 72 includesinformation regarding the pricing and availability of the product andhyperlinks to the web sites maintained by the vendors at which theproduct is offered for sale. By selecting one or more of the hyperlinks,a user of the manufacturer's web site may link directly to a web sitemaintained by a vendor of the products produced by that manufacturerwithout leaving the web site of the manufacturer.

As noted above, the list generated on the manufacturer's web site by thepresent invention is a manufacturer-defined list. Accordingly, thepresent invention teaches that the manufacturer may select what portionof the information stored in the fields of the product object and vendorobject is to be displayed in graphical representation 72. For example,the manufacturer operating the web site shown in FIG. 7 has chosen thatgraphical representation 72 include information on price andavailability of the product for Vendors A-C. However, it should beappreciated that the information actually stored in the product objectmay include additional information regarding the product, and theinformation stored in the vendor objects referencing that product objectmay include information regarding additional vendors of that product,and that the manufacturer may have chosen to selectively suppress suchadditional information from graphical representation 72. By way ofexample, the manufacturer may have instead elected to suppress thedisplay of certain vendor identifiers that correspond to vendors thatare not preferred vendors of the manufacturer. Likewise, themanufacturer may have elected to display only certain informationregarding the product, while suppressing other information fromgraphical representation 72.

Accordingly, there has been described herein a new and novel databaseand method of operation to facilitate the generation and maintenance oflists of information contained in the database. It should be understoodthat the particular embodiments shown in the drawings and describedwithin this specification are for purposes of example and should not beconstrued to limit the invention which will be described in the claimsbelow. Further, it is evident that those skilled in the art may now makenumerous uses and modifications of the specific embodiments described,without departing from the inventive concepts. It is also evident thatthe steps recited may in some instances be performed in a differentorder; or equivalent structures and processes may be substituted for thevarious structures and processes described.

1. A method for offering products and services for sale, the methodcomprising: (a) establishing a first list of goods or services on aserver of a manufacturer related to a website of the manufacturer; b)establishing a direct link from the first list to a second list of goodsand services on a server of a retailer related to a website of theretailer; (c) presenting at least a portion of the first list of goodsor services to a consumer at the website of the manufacturer; (d)receiving an indication of interest in a good or service; and (e)linking directly to the second list of goods and services at the websiteof the retailer without leaving the website of the manufacturer.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: (f) automatically updating thefirst list of goods or services on the server of the manufacturer whenthe second list is updated.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the firstlist of goods or services includes a first list object, wherein thefirst list object includes a first list field.
 4. The method of claim 1wherein the good or service corresponds to a first list object in thefirst list of goods or services.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein thefirst list object corresponds to a second list identifier, wherein thesecond list identifier is associated with the second list of goods andservices.
 6. The method of claim 3 wherein the establishing of (b)includes: i) generating a second list identifier corresponding to thesecond list of goods and services; and ii) associating the second listidentifier with the first list object.
 7. The method of claim 6 whereinthe second list identifier is unique.
 8. The method of claim 3 whereinthe first list object is a copy of at least a portion of a second listobject contained in the second list of goods or services.
 9. The methodof claim 3 wherein the first list field contains a pointer referencing asecond object in the second list of goods or services.
 10. The methodclaim 2 wherein the updating of (f) occurs each time the first list ofgoods or services is accessed.
 11. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: g) establishing a first plurality of additional lists ofproducts or services at the manufacturer server; h) establishing aplurality of direct links from the first plurality of additional liststo a second plurality of additional lists of goods and services on aplurality of retail servers; and (i) associating each of the first listand the first plurality of additional lists with a corresponding listidentifier.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein each list identifier isassociated with a particular product.
 13. A system for offering productsor services, the system comprising: (a) a manufacturer server, themanufacturer server storing a first list of goods or services; (b) avendor server, the vender server storing a second list of goods orservices, wherein a direct link is established from the first list tothe second list; (c) a manufacturer website that presents at least aportion of the first list responsive to the request of a user; and (d) avendor website, related to the second list, wherein when a request isreceived at the manufacturer website from the user, at least a portionof the vendor website is displayed according to the direct link and theuser remains at the manufacturer website.
 14. The system of claim 13wherein the first list of goods or services includes a first listobject, wherein the first list object includes a first list field. 15.The system of claim 14 wherein the direct link is formed by: i)generating a second list identifier corresponding to the second list ofgoods and services; and ii) associating the second list identifier withthe first list object.
 16. The system of claim 15 wherein the secondlist identifier is unique.
 17. The system of claim 13 wherein the firstlist is automatically updated according to a change in the second list.18. A method for a manufacturer to link to products for sale throughmanufacturer websites, the method comprising: (a) establishing a listdatabase on a manufacturer server, the list database including a firstplurality of lists, each associated with a corresponding listidentifier, the first plurality of lists including a first listassociated with a first list identifier, wherein each list identifierand each list of the first plurality relates to a product; b)establishing a plurality of direct links from the first plurality oflists to a second plurality of lists on a plurality of vendor serversrelated to a plurality of vendors, wherein the first list has a firstdirect link to a second list; (c) receiving an indication, from aconsumer at a manufacturer website, related to a desired productcorresponding to the first list; and (d) linking directly to the secondlist according to the first direct link, wherein the user remains at themanufacturer website.
 19. The method of claim 13 wherein the first listincludes a first list object, wherein the first list object includes afirst list field.
 20. The method of claim 14 wherein the first directlink is formed by: i) generating a second list identifier correspondingto the second list; and ii) associating the second list identifier withthe first list object.
 21. The method of claim 18 wherein theassociating includes storing the second list identifier in the firstlist field.
 22. A method implemented by a server computer operativelycoupled across a network to a client computer, the method comprising:(a) responsive to receipt of data from a management tool executing onthe client computer, establishing a first list associated with the useron a list database, said list database including a plurality of lists,each associated with a corresponding list identifier, the first listbeing associated with a first list identifier; b) receiving the firstlist identifier from the client computer system; (c) responsive toreceiving the first list identifier: i) retrieving the first list fromthe list database; and ii) communicating the first list to themanagement tool for presentation to the user, the management toolallowing the user to revise the first list to generate a revised firstlist; and (d) responsive to receiving data from the client computercorresponding to the revised first list, updating the first list in thelist database to reflect the revised first list.